Mediation Guide
THE BASICS
WHY MEDIATE?
WHAT TO EXPECT
WHY CHOOSE TEAL?
Why choose to work with us?
We lead with purpose…
We bring much more than just our years of professional experience to the mediation process.
Melissa Hoppe
Zahra Taseer
Kimberley Vooro
As experienced family lawyers, we've seen first hand that the Canadian justice system and the way it handles family disputes has become a complex process with long wait times and delays making it both inefficient and costly.
More importantly, it has become an outdated and judgement based system which positions parties as adversaries, perpetuating conflict and often causing trauma. It does nothing to support or prepare people with children who must maintain a functioning relationship in the future.
We want to help change that.
We offer an alternative to high-cost, inefficient and adversarial court proceedings with an affordable, modern and compassionate approach towards resolution.
We connect with compassion.
We bring our genuine compassion to all the work we do. We care. We listen. We consciously surrender any judgement.
At Teal, we also recognize the work we do impacts not only on the people in the mediation process, but their children and extended families, and continues to ripple outwards. We take our responsibility seriously. With our genuine compassion we want to make a positive contribution for your family and the larger community of which we are all a part of.
We succeed with collaboration.
We believe that the best agreements for your family are reached through collaboration. We respect you as an individual and value your autonomy in making decisions for your family’s future.
We also recognize that many of the issues facing couples and co-parents when they separate are not only legal – they are relational, emotional, and financial. We take a holistic approach to our mediation process and take into consideration all aspects of family well-being. We have a network of professionals who we refer to and collaborate with, including family counsellors, coaches, financial professionals, and real estate professionals.
OUR EXPERIENCE AND OFFERINGS
We are a team of experienced professionals with specialized mediation training for separating couples and co-parents
Combined, we have more than 45 years of experience practicing as traditional and collaborative family lawyers
We offer a holistic approach for families in transition with a more balanced, compassionate and sustainable approach to separation, co-parenting and divorce mediation
We are the first mediation business in Ontario to team up with Our Family In Two Homes to offer their workbooks as part of our mediation process
We are among the first group of Ontario family law professionals to be trained in the Conscious Contracts® Process
Our technologies improve the level of convenience and service we provide with virtual mediations, automated processes and online forms and billing
We conduct mediations virtually for your comfort and convenience but can accommodate in-person mediations at our Ancaster location
We’re innovative.
We value innovation and like to challenge traditional thinking by continuously asking “is there a better way?” We do this within our mediation sessions and in our process design.
As a testament to this, we are the first mediation business in Ontario to team up with Our Family In Two Homes to offer their workbooks as part of our mediation process. These “workbooks that work” help you prepare for mediation. Being prepared translates into more positive and productive mediation sessions and can help reduce time and fees.
The Teal Team of Mediators were also among the first group of Ontario family law professionals to be trained in the Conscious Contracts® process. This process provides a framework for authentic communication, connection, clarity and relationship design. A key principle of the Conscious Contracts® process is that contracts do not belong to lawyers or the court – they belong to the parties for their shared purpose. We incorporate these values into the parenting plans we work with you to create.
Being innovative, we also continue to embrace new technologies to improve upon convenience and the level of service we provide. We conduct mediations virtually, from the comfort of your own home or office. We have also automated many of our processes, embracing online forms and billing. This enables us to serve families throughout Ontario. We also respect that not everyone feels the same way about technology. So, if you’re less comfortable in a virtual world, that is no problem! On request we can arrange for mediations to take place in person in our Ancaster office location.
As people and professionals, we are always striving to learn more and do better.Our purpose is to empower individuals like you with the opportunity and ability to move forward with understanding and clarity so you can transcend conflict and embrace transformation for a better future for yourselves and your children.
We know that good intention alone will not achieve these goals. We must take consistent good action, embrace a growth mindset, and to be adaptive and responsive to the needs of those we serve.
We welcome participant feedback as part of the mediation process, and the opportunity to learn and grow from and with you.